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Soushou Clan
The Soushou Clan (ソウショウ一族, Soushou Ichizoku) is one of the founding clans of Heart Shrine village. They are known for their calligraphy abilities, stealth, speed, and diverse array of clan members with diametrically opposite talents and elemental affiliations. They are considered the artists of Heart Shrine. Background According to legend, the Soushou clan originates from the Twin Rivers area. It is said that their founder was once a great warrior who sought enlightenment and found the key to understanding all under heaven in the art of calligraphy. The descendants of this warrior embraced this philosophy and turned their way to the path of balance between the way of the heart and the way of the warrior. It is for this reason they settled easily into the newly created village and soon became the backbone of the intelligence and tactical side of the village. Deeply loyal to the village and typically reserved, members of the Soushou clan are often found in professions within the village related to administration, security, communication and intelligence gathering. The Soushou clan is known for producing ninja with almost diametrically opposed talents and elemental affiliations. These ninja often work with others within their clan who are their opposites, allowing for a heightened combat effectiveness. Due to their reserved and insular packlike nature, it takes longer for members of the Soushou clan to learn to work with those outside the clan, but once they do, there is no teammate more loyal than a member of the Soushou clan. Often, to their surprise, outsiders find that once they have earned the trust of their Soushou clan teammate, they have unofficially been adopted into the family! Abilities The Soushou are a clan primarily known for their legendary stealth, speed and ink jutsu. Common Paths for Soushou clan members are the Assassin, Intelligence, ANBU, Infiltration - Sabotage, and Infiltration - Undercover paths. The Soushou clan use a variety of ink jutsu in combination with chakra-infused inks and special papers. Through the use of these specially prepared inks and papers, members of the Soushou clan are able to produce a wide variety of effects with both civilian and combat applications. The most common applications of their techniques are for intelligence gathering and discreet communication. Through the infusion of chakra, they may also "sap" inks from existing graffiti or artwork and use them in combat. Their fighting style is fast, stealthy and aggressive, with a heavy focus on separating individuals from larger units. They are typically paired up with someone of an opposing or complimentary chakra nature and skills in combat to heighten the unit's overall combat effectiveness. Kekkei Genkai The Soushou clan possesses an ability to manipulate others through the spoken word. This ability is known as the Tsuugen. Primarily, the Tsuugen is used in combat to momentarily stun others or disrupt genjutsu. The most skilled users in the clan are known to have the ability to stun people or disrupt illusions with a few whispered words, though the ability is extremely draining. The ability can also be used to either inspire great happiness and confidence in others or psychologically wear them down. Very rarely, members of the Soushou clan can cause a word to physically manifest in the direction of their target. This manifestation ranges from cuts in the ground, walls or trees in the direction of their target to sprays of ink sapped from the surroundings. At its highest level, the Tsuugen is capable of killing an adult where they stand. Using the ability is not without risk. If overused, clan members can lose their voice temporarily, anywhere from a few hours to a few days or a week. The more often it is used, the higher the risk of hurting a Soushou's throat and the longer it will take to recover. Additionally, the user's emotional state can influence the ability significantly - rage, vengeance and fury, in particular, are said to induce a side effect of terror in their target, while cheerfulness and happiness tend to inspire delight. Soushou members therefore tend to be very sparing with their words. Use of this ability also requires the Soushou clan member to be close enough to be heard by their target, rendering their infamous stealth useless. The quieter they speak, the closer they must get to their target. All members of the clan can are trained to manipulate people with their voice from an early age, though those with the potential to develop the bloodline aren't generally spotted until they are in a highly stressful situation and accidentally end up painting with a physically manifested word. Once they have done so, they are trained in the bloodline and controlling their emotions. Women in the clan usually master it earlier and are generally considered the most skilled at terrifying someone silly even with the most cheerful voices. As Soushou clan members tend to be observant, especially of people, and aware of their surroundings, they tend to use true statements to break illusions. Rarely do they use any offensive form of the ability against fellow villagers or family members, opting instead to use the ability only when a few honest words are needed. Trivia *They often showcase their art in displays during the Kantsumiki festival. *The two "wave"-like magatama in their family mon, aligned so as to almost form a mitsudomoe, represent the duality of the clan and their origin at the Twin Rivers. *The crossed scrolls in the family mon represent their relationship with ink techniques and information. *The diamond shape below the crossed scrolls represents Tenrousei, the wolf star, and alludes to their symbolic animal, the wolf. *The Soushou clan has been known to recruit from outside their clan. *Tsuugen is written as 痛言, which means "Cutting Remark" or "harsh words," which is a direct allusion to the Soushou tendency to be outspoken. It also refers to the ability of words to hurt others. *Members of the Soushou clan are expressly forbidden from using Fujihara clan blood in their inks. Category:Clans Category:Soushou Clan Category:Founding clan